Jay Boutwell's Comments

Angie what a nice lady you are to want to help an elderly gentleman.

The ones I have seen are made like airplane propellers.  These were very popular here not long ago as the Oregon Ducks were playing high in the football games and everyone was flying flags and wearing clothing in support of the Oregon Ducks.  Several had these whirley jigs in their yards and even small ones on hand held sticks and on auto antennas.

  The ones that were made of wood had wooden wings that looked airplane propellers.  I did see a couple whirley jigs where someone had actually taken the plastic airplane propellers off of a toy and added them to the side of jig sawn duck and when they were spinning looked pretty good.  What they had done was taken the propellers from what looked like the ones from a rubber band wind up toy and used a nail to attach them to the duck. When it was all painted up it was actually a classic way to make the jig. They actually spun fast in a light wind.  This would be the easy method but you could carve some from wood as well using a light weight wood and keep them balanced cutting the blades so that one would twist one way with the other one twisting the other way just like a propeller.

  Good luck with a nice peroject that will bring some happiness to someone.   Need more help please feel free to ask and I will make a sample.

Jay, I have an oldddd gentleman that lives near me, 2 houses over. He's legally blind, and asked if I could make a duck whirligig, the noise is soothing. 

I've scoured the internet to find out what that even is. 

I've figured out, no flat wings, they have to curve someway.

Do you have any idea how to curve the wings?> any ideas appreciated. Apparently, he had one before, long time ago, that rotted, and his gardener threw it away. 

thanks in advance, 

:) angie

Something similar to this maybe? http://youtu.be/ghiSN3w-B7Ehttp://youtu.be/ghiSN3w-B7E

I know the wings need to curve to spin fast. A little history, his wife passed 7 months ago, I'd like to make this for him, he never asks for anything. Today, came over with his aide when he saw me in the garage working. Please help me figure this out. thanks, angie

Jay

Thank you for sharing your video on raised panel doors.  It was great.  It will be very helpful to anyone that wants to build cabinets and feel they need some help along the way.  The cabinets you built are beautiful.  I hope they went in your kitchen.

George

Jay, I'm looking for the plans for the "Auto Switch", do you still have them?  Thanks, Bob

n8oxh@yahoo.com

Thank you Jay, I'm sure that we will have a lot to share & I hope you don't mind if I use your expertise to learn how to work my way up to becoming a craftsman ursh like yourself.  I can only hope to someday create items as beautiful as lhat you build.  Thanks again for accepting me, LarryD.

Hi Angie, there are many ways to make a door as well as many styles of doors.  Depending on the equiptment you have at hand will determine the best method to use. If you wish to use only a table saw  the simple door with datos and a filler block would be the easiest method.  It requires the cutting of a dato on all rails and stiles that run the full length of the stock.  It will require four small filler block pieces to insert into the ends of the stile at the corner joints.   It is possible to avoid the blocks however it requires percise stopped datoes cut by plunge cutting and lifting off the saw blade and then some chisel cutting to finish out the dato.

Since you have a router now would be a great time to become familiar with it and its use.  The bit you would require to build the panel door with the panel inserted into the back would be a 3/8" dato bit, also called a rabbit bit.  In this method you cut your rails and stiles and assemble them using a method such as the pocket hole.  Once assembled use your router and cut a dato on the inside of the assembled door frame. 

The two cautions here is to besure to bore the pocket hole in a position away from where the inter screw will be placed to prevent it from hitting your router bit as you cut your dato.  I would set it at least an inch in from the inter edge.  This bit will need to be the one with the bearing on the bottom as this is what guides the router around the frame as you cut.  The second and most important here is to feed the material into the bit and not the opposite. ( example here is to lay the assembled frame down in  front of you and with the back of the door up.  Set the router bit to cut about 1/4" deep for the first pass around the frame.  The router bit turns in a clock wise rotation so beginning on the left sit the rounter down onto the wood with the bit not touching the wood, turn on the router and feed it slowly into the wood. Iin a clockwise direction move the router around the inside of the frame.  Reset the bit debth to your final desired depth and repeat the process.  The corners will be round so here you have a choice.  Either cut the corners square with a chisel or cut your panel with the corners round.   Next process would be to insert your panel and attach it either using glue or silicone.  As for debth of the dato I usually use 1/4" panel and cut the dato 3/8 deep which allows me to either use glue or silicone to secure the panel.  You can also use small brads driven into the sides of the rail and stiles.  Once this is done you can plug the pocket holes with a short piece of 3/8" dowel and then sand flush with the rails and stiles.    You might also need to clamp the rail and stile frame flat to a table or other flat surface as it will tend to warp and I suggest doing this before your insert the panel and then let it fully dry before unclamping.  Warping  is one of the big problems with panel insert doors as there is not enough wood in the panel to keep them flat. if you wish to give the outside of your door a profile purchase either a round over bearing bit or a cove bit with a bearing.  Caution here if you do this you must run the router in the different direction  (now counter clock wise) as you have changed sides with the entry point of the router bit against the wood.   What happens when you do this is the bit hits the wood and wants to grab and can get out of control.  This can damage your work or worse damage you or another person.  You must always remember the bit rotation and introduce it into the wood so that your directions of travel causes the bit to feed into the wood.  The same principal as the table saw blade.  You are pushing yousr work into the blades rotation.  There are times when using a router that you may need to move your router in a direction where is in cutting with your direction of travel which is called climb cutting hower this is a dangerous practice and extream caution needs to be taken here.

I'm right in the middle of a hugh cabinet project where I will be building over 100 doors some of which will be over 6 feet in height  and will be all raised panel.  The upper are cathedral arch and the lower are square panel design.  While doing this I plan on doing a documentary of the process and will post it for members who  wish to see it.

If you can hold off on your door building until Saturday I will be glad to build a sample door of the the type you are describing and send you photos of the process.  In the meantime this would be a good time to practice on some scrap wood with your router.  Learning the use of the router will open up an brand new world of wood working for you. 

The idea you have is excellent and seeing how you have progressed in your ability and talent since stating woodworking I have no doubt that you will excell and be very good and making your doors.

I am always here to help you. 

Jay, I'm really having a blonde moment when it comes to making doors. I have a router, handheld, but I haven't even opened the box!~ I'm thinking I could make some easy cabinet doors with beadboard and 1x4 framing. any thoughts? 

Thanks for the kudos Jay!

hi jay, havent heard from you in while. hope you and yours are well. we are doing well here, getting ready for christmas and new years. shop has heat now. if i dont hear from you merry christmas and a very happy new year to you and your family. talk care

I don't know where I came up with your first name of Jay rather than Tim. I certainly aplologize. I read with interest your article in the various electrical switches. I am wondering if it would be possible to get a copy of the plans for them. I like to make my own tools and items like the switches just to see if I can do it. It also cuts down expenses.

Thanks for your assistance.

Robert

Greetings Jay:

Thanks for your kind comments. I think it is great that I connected with another retired officer who is an avid woodworker.  My last 15 years of law enforcement were in Lake City, MN where I live. I was Chief of Police. I was activated to the Gulf war and was injured in Iraq. The injury wound up ending my law enforcement career. I thank you for your friendship and look forward to having future discussions.

Sincerely;  Robert

Thanks Jay, for your response.  I'm new to the Kreg website, yet have very much enjoyed your kind and helpful postings addressed to so many, with such a variation of questions and challenges.  I am "blown away" by your items displayed in photos!  Amazing, beautiful work! If only I could produce such beautiful items!  I make log-style items, which require less precise workmanship, yet begin with harvesting of trees/logs and continuing to the finished project.  It's all very rewarding, yet I want to expand my abilities and variation of finished products!  Best regards, and keep the mentoring coming!

Thanks for the kind words Jay. I look forward to my next project.

looks like you have plenty of work, may need to hire your neighbor for some help. lol. take care will talk to you later, cant wait to see some more pics of the up comming jobs.